Like most kids, John Foster started scribbling at about age four, but never lost his interest in drawing. During his teen years his interests in science and art merged, inspired by space scenes in books and movies. After high school John attended a small local art school to develop his drawing skills and learn airbrush techniques.

In 1983, John started doing work for the local planetarium and periodicals began to publish his work. Since then, his vivid space scenes have appeared in books, magazines, on album covers and screen savers in both the United States and abroad.

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, John considers himself more an explorer than an artist. He uses art as a means of visiting places or times otherwise beyond his (and often anyone else’s) reach. These adventures have often led deep into the universe, resulting in his signature style – photo-realistic paintings of distant worlds. These works have been exhibited in national and international shows, toured Russia, and have been featured in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Also an extremely diversified artist, John also paints wilderness landscapes, archeological subjects past and present, and occasionally does figure and mythological subjects. Working comfortably in various media, he has created everything from handcrafted scratchboard art to the finely detailed three-dimensional surface of a giant globe of the moon.

John is also an accomplished photographer. Specializing in photographing landscapes at night, he is represented by Photo Researchers, a major New York stock photography agency.

John and his wife Karen currently reside in Portland, Oregon. His other interests include backpacking, and natural history.